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GEN’L  ROBERT  E.  LEE. 


AN  ADDRESS 


DELIVERED  BEFORE 


THE  STUDENTS 


OF  THE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  THE  SOOTH 


OCTOBER  IS,  1870, 


By  Rt.  Rev.  Jos.  P.  B.  Wilmer, 


Bishop  of  Louisiana. 


NASHVILLE,  TENN.  : 

PAUL  &  TAVEL. 

1872. 


GEN’L  ROBERT  E.  LEE. 


,  m 

WS~5 


AN  ADDRESS 


DELIVERED  BEFORE 


THE  STUDENTS 


OF  THE 


UNIVERSITY  OF  THE  SOUTH 


OTOBER  15,  1870, 


By  Rt.  Rev.  Jos.  P.  B.  Wilmer, 

Bishop  of  Louisiana. 


NASHVILLE,  TENN. : 

PAUL  &  TAVEL. 

1872. 


CORRESPONDENCE. 


Right  Reverend  and  Dear  Sir  :  We  beg  leave  to  communicate  to  you  the  following  resolution 
of  the  “E.  Q.  B.  Club”  of  the  University  of  the  South,  adopted  at  their  last  weekly  meeting  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Bishop  of  Louisiana,  Rt.  Rev.  Jos.  P.  B.  Wilmer,  be  respectfully  requested 
to  furnish  to  this  Club  a  copy  of  his  remarks  before  the  students  of  the  University  on  Saturday 
morning  last,  after  Morning  Service,  upon  the  occasion  of  the  demise  of  General  Robert  E.  Lee, 
with  a  view  to  their  publication ;  and  that  a  committee  be  appointed  to  communicate  with  the 
Bishop  on  the  subject. 

The  intimate  personal  relations  long  subsisting  between  General  Lee  and  yourself,  and  the  gen¬ 
eral  tenor  of  your  remarks  to  the  students  on  the  day  referred  to  in  the  resolution,  make  it,  in  our 
opinion,  very  desirable  and  proper  that  those  remarks  should  be  put  in  some  permanent  form.  We 
therefore  hope  that  you  will  find  it  consistent  with  your  sense  of  propriety  and  duty  to  furnish  them. 

Most  respectfully  yours, 

JNO.  D.  PHELAN, 

J.  GORGAS, 

F.  A.  SHOUP, 

Rt.  Rev.  Jos.  P.  B.  Wilmer,  Committee. 

University  Place ,  Sewanee,  Tenn.,  Oct.  20,  1870. 


BISHOP  WILMER’s  REPLY. 

UNIVERSITY  OF  THE  SOUTH, 
October  22,  1870. 

Gentletnen  :  I  have  endeavored  in  the  few  hours  allotted  me,  to  reproduce  the  remarks  made 
at  the  request  of  the  University  authorities  on  the  melancholy  occasion,  so  fresh  in  our  memory. 

They  have  no  interest  beyond  the  place  and  the  hour,  and  I  hope  will  fulfill  their  mission  as 
privately  as  possible,  [without  publication.]  * 

I  have  the  honor  to  remain  very  respectfully  and  faithfully, 

J.  P.  B.  WILMER. 

Hon.  Jno.  D.  Phelan. 

Gen’l  J.  Gorgas. 

Rev.  F.  A.  Shoup. 


■ 


•  *  '  I 

S  ft  ‘  |  ...  C  , 

. 


;  4 


ADDRESS. 


The  last  scene  has  closed  upon  an  illustrious  life — a 
life  fraught  with  lessons  of  wisdom  to  the  old  and  with 
inspiration  to  the  young  of  this  generation.  The  earth 
opens  this  day  to  receive  to  its  bosom  the  most  precious 
treasure  which  has  been  left  to  our  bereft  and  stricken 
people.  The  great  and  good  man,  whose  name  has  so 
long  been  a  household  word  in  our  land,  goes  to  take 
his  place  among  the  silent  congregation  of  the  dead. 
Until  the  day  breaks,  and  the  shadows  flee  away,  he  is 
buried  from  our  sight — his  presence  is  lost  to  us,  but  not 
his  heroic  virtues  and  the  brilliant  deeds  which  have 
given  his  name  to  history. 

Stars  have  been  extinguished  in  the  sky,  whose  light 
continues  to  travel  through  space,  and  to  linger  in  our 
sight;  and  in  the  sphere  of  humanity  there  are  examples 
of  men  so  elevated  above  this  world  that  when  they 
ceased  to  live  they  have  not  ceased  to  shine — their  pres¬ 
ence  abides  with  us,  and  the  radiance  of  their  life  re¬ 
mains  to  cheer  and  bless  the  world  they  have  forsaken. 
The  lamented  friend  whom  we  commemorate  to-day  was 
one  of  this  race  of  heroes.  His  life  is  an  enduring 
inheritance  to  his  country  and  the  Church  of  Christ. 

Personally,  he  was  a  man  of  rare  gifts,  physical  and 


6 


mental.  To  these  were  added  the  advantages  of  a  fin¬ 
ished  culture.  Providence  had  endowed  him  for  a  career 
of  distinction.  The  descendant  of  an  honored  house — 
allied  by  marriage  to  the  family  of  our  great  Washing¬ 
ton,  he  reflected  in  his  character  the  ennobling  influences 
of  his  early  associations  with  the  great  and  good.  Habits 
of  temperance,  frugality,  industry,  self-control,  formed  in 
youth,  adhered  to  him  .through  life.  With  every  tempta¬ 
tion  to  luxury,  he  was  an  example  of  moderation — with 
every  incentive  to  pride  and  ambition,  his  tastes  were 
restrained  within  the  limits  of  an  elegant  simplicity,  and 
his  whole  life  was  one  of  profound  submission  to  the 
duties  of  the  hour. 

The  profession  of  arms,  which  he  had  chosen,  was  not 
likely  to  make  him  conspicuous  during  the  reign  of 
peace.  But  his  great  mind  had  already  asserted  its 
power,  and  won  for  him  a  proud  distinction  among  his 
contemporaries.  Indeed,  his  reputation  was  such  at  that 
period,  that  when  this  institution  was  first  projected, 
upon  a  scale  of  grandeur  commensurate  with  the  cir¬ 
cumstances  which  gave  it  birth,  the  attention  of  its 
founders  was  directed  to  him,  and  the  wish  was  unani¬ 
mous  to  make  him  the  head  of  the  institution,  to  usher 
it  into  life  and  to  preside  over  its  destiny.  Providence 
had  chosen  for  him  another  sphere.  It  is  reserved  for 
the  convulsions  of  society  to  form  heroes,  as  convulsions 
in  nature  form  mountains.  The  late  war,  so  destructive 
of  every  thing  else,  was  fruitful  in  deeds  of  heroism 
almost  without  parallel  in  history.  Conspicuous  above 
all  others  in  that  momentous  struggle  was  your  departed 


7 


chieftain.  A  great  man  was  required,  and  great  spir¬ 
its  were  ready  to  gather  around  him.  In  what  tem¬ 
per  of  mind  he  entered  on  this  contest  I  can  speak  with 
some  confidence,  from  personal  interviews  with  him,  soon 
after  the  commencement  of  hostilities.  “Is  it  your  ex¬ 
pectation,”  I  asked,  “that  the  issue  of  this  war  will  be  to 
perpetuate  the  institution  of  slavery?”  “The  future  is 
in  the  hands  of  Providence,”  he  replied,  “but  if  the  slaves 
in  the  South  were  mine,  I  would  surrender  them  all 
without  a  struggle  to  avert  this  war.”  I  asked  him  next 
upon  what  his  calculations  were  based  in  so  unequal  a 
contest,  and  how  he  expected  to  win  success— was 
he  looking  to  divided  counsels  in  the  North,  or  to 
foreign  interposition?  His  answer  showed  how  little 
he  was  affected  by  the  hopes  and  fears  which  agitated 
ordinary  minds.  “My  only  reliance  is  in  the  help  of 
God.”  “Are  you  sanguine  of  the  result?”  I  ventured  to 
inquire.  “At  present  I  am  not  concerned  with  results. 
God’s  will  ought  to  be  our  aim,  and  I  am  quite  contented 
that  his  designs  should  be  accomplished,  and  not  mine.” 
What  results  might  be  expected  when  sentiments  like 
these  should  be  developed  into  action?  Aims  so  pure 
and  unselfish  could  not  fail  to  produce  in  a  strong 
character,  that  calm  intrepidity  of  soul,  that  singleness 
of  purpose,  that  meekness  of  spirit  in  the  midst  of 
violence  and  passion,  that  self-abnegation  in  the  hour  of 
victory,  that  sublime  heroism  under  adverse  fortune, 
which  made  him  the  idol  of  his  friends,  and  now  com¬ 
mands  the  confidence  and  respect  of  the  civilized  world. 
Other  men  have  gained  great  conquests,  and  filled  the 


8 


nation  with  their  fame,  but  where  do  we  find  a  man 
whose  greatness  was  so  pure  from  every  earthly  passion, 
and  of  whom  it  may  be  truly  said  that  he  would  have 
rejoiced  to  reform  and  bless  the  world,  without  its  being 
known  that  he  was  in  it? 

At  the  close  of  the  war,  we  followed  him  with  admira¬ 
tion  unabated,  to  his  chosen  retirement.  His  great  mind 
harbored  no  resentments ;  he  uttered  no  complaints. 
He  accepted  the  consequences  of  the  war  with  a  spirit 
of  resignation  which  few  can  emulate,  but  which  we  all 
revere.  We  thought  now  that  his  sun  had  gone  down 
in  night,  but  we  were  in  error.  The  joy  and  glory  of 
nature  are  truthfully  represented  in  activity,  not  in  rest. 
The  tired  swan  which  has  winged  its  flight  from  other 
scenes,  and  cleft  its  way  through  storm  and  tempest, 
does  not  seek  an  inglorious  rest  upon  the  still  and 
motionless  earth,  but  aims  rather  to  fold  its  wings  upon 
the  lake,  and  in  the  quiet  action  of  the  waves  to  exercise 
and  refresh  its  strength.  The  change  in  the  life  of  this 
unconquerable  man  is  not  one  from  labor  to  idle  repose 
and  inanity.  He  sought  activity  and  usefulness,  and  he 
did  not  seek  in  vain. 

I  was  seated  at  the  close  of  the  day  in  my  Virginia 
home,  when  I  beheld  through  the  thickening  shades 
of  evening  a  horseman  entering  the  yard,  whom  I 
soon  recognized  as  General  Lee.  The  next  morning  he 
placed  in  my  hands  the  correspondence  with  the  authori¬ 
ties  of  Washington  College  at  Lexington.  He  had 
been  invited  to  become  President  of  that  institution. 
His  mind  was  perplexed  and  craved  sympathy.  I  con- 


9 


fess  to  a  feeling  of  momentary  chagrin  at  the  proposed 
change  —  shall  I  say,  revulsion  in  his  history.  The 
institution  was  .  one  of  local  interest,  and  comparatively 
unknown  to  our  people.  I  named  others  more  con¬ 
spicuous,  which  would  welcome  him  with  ardour  as  their 
presiding  head.  I  soon  discovered  that  his  mind  tow¬ 
ered  above  these  earthly  distinctions — that  in  his  judg¬ 
ment  the  cause  gave  dignity  to  the  institution,  and  not  the 
wealth  of  its  endowments  or  the  renown  of  its  scholars 
— that  this  door  and  not  another  was  opened  to  him  by 
Providence,  and  he  only  wished  to  be  assured  of  his 
competency  to  fulfill  the  trust,  and  thus  to  make  his  few 
remaining  years  a  comfort  and  blessing  to  his  suffering 
country.  I  had  spoken  to  his  human  feelings ;  he  had 
now  revealed  himself  to  me,  as  one  whose  life  was  hid 
with  Christ  in  God.  My  speech  was  no  longer  re¬ 
strained.  I  congratulated  him  that  his  heart  had  been 
inclined  to  this  great  cause,  and  that  he  was  spared 
to  give  to  the  world  this  august  testimony  to  the  im¬ 
portance  of  Christian  education.  How  he  listened  to 
rfty  feeble  words — how  he  beckoned  me  to  his  side,  as 
the  fullness  of  my  heart  found  utterance — how  his 
whole  countenance  glowed  with  animation,  when  I 
spoke  of  the  Holy  Ghost  as  the  great  Teacher,  whose 
presence  was  required  to  make  education  a  blessing, 
which  otherwise  might  be  the  curse  of  mankind.  How 
feelingly  he  responded,  how  eloquently  as  I  never  heard 
him  speak  before,  can  never  be  effaced  from  my  mem¬ 
ory,  and  nothing  more  sacred  mingles  with  my  reminis¬ 
cences  of  the  dead. 


IO 


Into  this  new  sphere  of  duty  he  entered  with  that 
steadfast  spirit  of  devotion  which  adorned  his  whole 
life.  His  example  was  needed  to  restore  the  droop¬ 
ing  spirits  of  his  countrymen.  He  felt  it,  and  lavished 
all  his  strength  in  the  effort  to  make  them  feel  there 
was  something  to  live  for  in  the  future.  With  the 
pale  signet  of  death  upon  his  brow,  he  toiled  for  the 
young  under  his  care.  He  led  them  with  his  right 
hand,  and  ruled  them  prudently  with  all  his  power. 
He  sought  to  kindle  their  ambition  to  heal  the  wounds 
of  their  country,  and  above  all  things  endeavored  to 
raise  them  to  a  new  and  higher  life  with  God.  Be¬ 
hold  him,  then,  while  distant  nations  were  applauding 
his  name,  walking  the  daily  round  of  duty,  seeking 
only  to  do  God’s  will  and  to  conquer  his  own.  With 
what  success  he  addressed  himself  to  this  sublime  mis¬ 
sion,  is  attested  by  the  rapid  growth  of  the  College 
under  his  charge,  now  become  one  of  the  most  thriv¬ 
ing  and  vigorous  institutions  in  the  land. 

Very  imperfect  mention  has  been  ma4e  of  the  reli¬ 
gious  character  of  General  Lee.  The  lesson  ought 
not  to  be  lost  on  a  proud  and  gainsaying  world,  that 
its  own  chosen  hero  lived  and  died  a  Christian  in  word 
and  deed.  The  world  had  its  portion  in  him  ;  his  own 

portion  was  not  on  earth.  The  renown  which  he  had 

% 

won  upon  the  theatre  of  worldly  distinction,  he  knew 
to  be  the  breath  of  popular  applause  which  must  soon 
be  hushed  in  the  silence  of  the  tomb.  The  princi¬ 
palities  and  powers  of  this  world,  which  had  involved 
his  sword  for  their  protection,  he  knew,  were  doomed 


to  an  early  oblivion :  but  in  the  religion  of  Jesus 
Christ,  his  faith  assured  him  that  he  was  possessed 
of  an  inheritance  incorruptible,  undefiled,  and  that 
fadeth  not  away.  The  religion  of  our  honored  friend 
was  not  a  creedless  religion.  His  faith  embraced  all 
the  doctrines  of  a  pure  and  primitive  Christianity.  He 
was  a  communicant  of  this  Church.  His  children  were 
baptized  at  her  Font.  Her  ministers  leaned  upon  his 
strong  arm  for  support.  The  Church  in  the  Diocese  of 
Virginia  derived  strength  from  his  frequent  presence  in 
her  councils.  His  last  act  was  to  preside  at  a  meeting  of 
the  vestry  of  his  parish.  Our  beloved  Zion  was  the 
chief  mourner  in  the  funeral  procession  which  followed 
him  to  the  grave.  A  great  writer  has  asserted  that 
every  nation  is  to  be  judged  by  its  heroes.  His  country¬ 
men  would  consent  to  stand  before  the  tribunal  of 
history,  and  to  accept  as  their  representative  in  war  and 
in  peace  the  chivalrous  and  sainted  Lee,  for  “God  has 
set  him  among  princes,  even  the  princes  of  his  people.” 

It  remains  for  me  to  say,  for  the  encouragement  of  the 
young  men  assembled  before  me,  that  the  character 
which  is  here  portrayed  was  not  one  of  sudden  growth. 
The  Church  sheltered  his  early  youth  as  it  shelters  you. 
He  was  a  good  boy  before  he  was  a  good  man.  Some 
youths  are  tempted  to  think  it  manly  to  defy  authority — 
to  be  impatient  at  least  under  discipline.  It  is  recorded 
of  Robert  Lee  that  during  a  life  of  four  years  at  West 
Point,  he  never  received  a  demerit,  and  he  found  it  no 
hardship,  so  complete  was  his  subjection  to  the  law 
of  duty.  Others  are  tempted  to  think  of  religion  as 


12 


a  great  humiliation,  and  to  affect  indifference  and  un¬ 
belief  as  a  token  of  independence.  You  mourn  one 
to-day  who  was  a  devoted  Christian,  and  has  the  know¬ 
ledge  of  this  fact  ever  chilled  the  hearts  of  men  towards 
him,  or  quenched  one  ray  of  his  glory?  True  religion 
adds  to  every  man’s  power ;  it  helps  to  make  men 
heroes,  scholars,  gentlemen.  The  religion  of  Christ 
is  stronger  than  thrones  or  empires.  It  invests  a  man 
with  honor  to  be  a  Christian.  It  is  the  only  true  honor, 
and  a  perishing  world  will  shortly  find  it  to  be  so.  This 
life  is  hastening  to  its  end.  It  is  not  in  our  power  to 
arrest  the  progress  of  time,  but  we  can  improve  it. 
We  cannot  prolong  the  bright  morning  of  our  days,  but 
we  can  make  it  productive  of  permanent  results.  We 
cannot  fix  the  evening  rays  of  life  in  their  shadowy 
horizon,  but  we  can  have  our  portion  in  that  life  which 
knows  no  change  or  decay — which  is  the  ornament 
of  youth,  the  joy  of  manhood,  the  glory  of  old  age. 
“  Him  that  honoreth  Me,  I  will  honor,  and  he  that  de- 
spiseth  Me,  shall  be  lightly  esteemed.” 


!  'r  <’  B 

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‘ 


. 


■  I 

■  ■  ■’ 


This  book  is  due  at  the  LOUIS  R.  WILSON  LIBRARY  on  the 
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renewed  by  bringing  it  to  the  library. 


DATE 

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RET. 

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Sni...  .  .. rp  1 

JAN  0  d 

#*“  fT' 

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1 1  ^  ~t* 

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Form  No.  51 3 

